Boatmen's Bancshares Company Overview and News

Boatmen's Bancshares was a financial services company that played a significant role in the banking industry. It was founded in 1982 as a result of the merger between Boatmen's Bank and Mercantile Bancorporation.

The company's headquarters was located in St. Louis, Missouri, and it operated in several states across the Midwest. Boatmen's Bancshares offered a range of financial services, including banking, investments, and insurance.

At its peak, the company had over 1,000 branches and employed more than 25,000 people. Its acquisition by Banc One in 1999 marked a significant turning point in the company's history.

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Boatmen's Bancshares was formed in 1872 with the merger of three St. Louis banks. The company's early years were marked by a focus on community banking.

The bank's first headquarters was located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Its proximity to the Mississippi River facilitated trade and commerce.

Boatmen's continued to grow and expand throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The bank's commitment to community banking remained a core part of its mission.

By the 1950s, Boatmen's had established itself as one of the leading banks in the Midwest. Its reputation for stability and customer service was well established.

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Boatmen's Bancshares Inc. agreed to acquire National Mortgage Company in an exchange of stock valued at $160 million. This deal marks another sign of commercial banks rushing to acquire mortgage banking firms as the industry consolidates.

The proposed acquisition will more than triple Boatmen's servicing portfolio, with the combined portfolios totaling about $17.5 billion, ranking it as one of the 30 largest in the country.

Boatmen's has 400 locations in nine states, from Tennessee in the east to New Mexico in the west, which will help it utilize its retail franchise more effectively.

In recent months, other commercial banks such as First Tennessee Corporation, PNC Bank Corporation, and BankAmerica Corporation have also bought mortgage banking companies or announced plans to buy.

The Mortgage Bankers Association of America executive vice president, Warren Lasko, notes that consolidation is an industry trend due to over capacity in the mortgage banking business.

Mortgage servicing, another activity of mortgage banking, remains attractive as the size of the servicing portfolio increases, leading to higher servicing profits.

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National Mortgage, based in Memphis, had revenues of $75 million last year, with $59 million related to its loan-servicing business.

The acquisition is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter, with Boatmen's planning to further expand its mortgage banking business.

NationsBank Corp. closed its $9.5 billion acquisition of Boatmen's Bancshares Inc., creating the fourth-largest bank in the nation with assets of about $225 billion.

Boatmen's customers can now use NationsBank's ATM machines in other states free-of-charge, and management changes in Oklahoma have already occurred.

The merger will take around 12 to 18 months to complete, during which time accounting and other banking systems will be converted.

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